Effective treatment for HIV and AIDS came in 1996. For sufferers in the developed world, this marked a true watershed moment: the end of the death sentence. But for many in the developing world, including in Southeast Asia, these new treatments remained far out of reach.

In his early thirties, following the loss of his partner to an AIDS-related illness, Chris Beyrer wrote the first edition of War in the Blood. Three decades later, having served as president of the International AIDS Society, he believes we have arrived at an extraordinary milestone. For the first time, a patient has been demonstrably cured of HIV, new vaccine trials in Thailand have shown great promise, and the PrEP programme genuinely works.

So why are over half of the estimated 38.8 million people living with HIV still not on treatment? War in the Blood is a labour of love, both a celebratory account of Southeast Asia and the story of our failure to protect those most vulnerable the world over - gay men, adolescent girls, sex workers, drug users, and transgender women. Beyrer offers an impassioned plea for our communities and governments - and our own hearts and minds - to stop denying the realities of sex, sexuality, and gender, and to take affirmative action.

Chris Beyrer is the Desmond Tutu Professor of Public Health and Human Rights at Johns Hopkins University, and was formerly President of the International AIDs Society. He has extensive experience in conducting international research and training programmes on HIV/AIDS around the world, and has served as an advisor on HIV prevention to international bodies including the World Bank, the United States Office of AIDs Research, and the Thai Red Cross. His other published works include the edited collection Public Health and Human Rights: Evidence-Based Approaches (2007).
Chris Beyrer is the Desmond Tutu Professor of Public Health and Human Rights at Johns Hopkins University, and was formerly President of the International AIDs Society. He has extensive experience in conducting international research and training programmes on HIV/AIDS around the world, and has served as an advisor on HIV prevention to international bodies including the World Bank, the United States Office of AIDs Research, and the Thai Red Cross. His other published works include the edited collection Public Health and Human Rights: Evidence-Based Approaches (2007).